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Opioid Vending Machines Dispense Cannabis Knowledge in Chicago

A Chicago advertising agency working with medical cannabis company Cresco Labs launched a dramatic medical cannabis campaign in downtown Chicago designed to draw attention to the opioid epidemic, Adweek reports.

Chicago-based creative agency Tom, Dick & Harry Creative Co. emblazoned a large vending machine with “Got Pain? Get Relief!” designs and placed it in downtown Chicago, not far from state government buildings. The machine contains notes written in cannabis prescription bottles that advocate for replacing opioid prescriptions with medical cannabis, designed to support Cresco Lab’s Opioid Prescription Exchange program.

Behind the machine, the company placed a 20-foot long billboard with “NObituaries” — stories from opioid epidemic survivors who switched to cannabis before their addiction to opioids could kill them.

The note inside each bottle reads:

WHO SAYS THE EPIDEMIC IS OUR ONLY CHOICE?

When you’re in pain, opioid prescriptions are the norm. Addiction is the norm. Overdose is the norm. That’s just the way it’s been, but we don’t need to accept it. Opioid patients deserve an alternative: medical cannabis.

Ask your doctor about replacing opioids with medical cannabis products and get relief that doesn’t cost you peace of mind. Pain isn’t a choice. How you treat it could be.

The vending machine and NObituary board are backed by a social media campaign encouraging people to share stories of defeating opioid addiction with cannabis using the #NOpioids hashtag.

“The creativity and attention-getting tactics behind our COPE campaign will help build awareness about using medical cannabis as an alternative to prescription opioids in a very untraditional way,” Cresco Labs CEO Charlie Bachtell told Adweek. “The awareness this campaign will create will ultimately improve the quality of life for someone who has been suffering with pain.”

The vending machine was placed in downtown Chicago the day after Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill allowing and encouraging medical cannabis use as an off-ramp from opioid addiction.

Pat Beggan

Patrick Beggan is a writer and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. After serving as a US Army medic, he developed a passion for natural and herbal medicine that led him to the West coast. As a photographer, he strives to capture mood & narrative simultaneously to create images that speak volumes.

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